


Second Chance

by foreverandeveralone



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Fluff, Kid Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-25
Updated: 2016-02-05
Packaged: 2018-02-26 23:20:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2670155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foreverandeveralone/pseuds/foreverandeveralone
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As a thank you gift, Jim was given a second chance, for the happy childhood, the happy life that was taken away from him.</p><p>And Spock took it upon himself to make sure the chance was not wasted.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I know I am fortunate to have a happy childhood, with loving and caring parents and relatives. However, I know there are people out there who are not as lucky as I am.
> 
> I have always thought about this when I learned of Jim's childhood. No child should be treated that way. I want to right the wrongs that was done to our dear Captain, and so...this happen! It's also because I want Jim and Spock to be together longer.
> 
> However, I must say that if I decide to continue this (which is pretty likely), it's gonna end in Spirk. Meaning it's somehow pseudo-incest, as Spock is technically Jim's adoptive father. You guys are warned. The decision is yours.

Spock and McCoy just stared at the members of the Enterprise who just appeared on the transporter pad, before turning to stare at each other, before turning to the transporter again, blinking. McCoy had his mouth wide open, while Spock’s eyebrows climbed high into his hairline. Behind them, Uhura and Gaila gasped audibly, while Scotty had his hands frozen on top of the transporter’s controls.

On the transporter’s pad, Sulu was scratching the back of his head sheepishly, Chekov looked slightly embarrassed, and Carol was…

She was looking at the 5-year-old blonde haired child, who was still sleeping in her arms, fondly. The child was cradled against her chest, wrapped in a golden tunic that was too big for him.

“What happened?” – Spock asked, breaking the silence that had been going on for too long.

“Well…” – Sulu fidgeted – “Long story short, the Council wanted to thank the Captain for coming to their aides so quickly. They took out this sparkling ball thing and told the Captain to put both his hands on it. As soon as the Captain’s hands touched the ball, the leader said that the ball would help set the wrongs in the Captain’s life right again, then the ball emitted a blinding light. When the light cleared, well…the Captain had already turned into a sleeping 5-year-old child.”

Spock and McCoy blinked before turning to each other, before in a swift moment, Spock stepped up the transporter’s pad and took sleeping 5-year-old Jim from Carol’s hands and quickly followed McCoy out of the transporter room, leaving behind a “Dismiss” that left no room for arguments.

***

“Well?” – Leonard asked as Spock entered sickbay again.

“I have contacted the planet’s High Council.” – Spock pulled another chair next to the one Leonard was sitting, next to the bio bed Jim was lying in, and sat down. Both of them were still staring at the sleeping child – “They said that the effect of their ‘magical crystal’ is irreversible. That is, the Captain was set back to the age where the wrongs in his life began. He was ‘given a second chance, given a better life that he deserves’, as the leader put it.”

“So does that mean Jim was de-aged permanently? That he’s gonna go through childhood and adolescence and all once more?” – Leonard grumbled.

“It appears so.” – Spock muttered – “Nyota has already relayed the information to the Admirals, and so…” – Spock paused for a few seconds before continuing – “As of midnight tonight, I am officially Captain of the Enterprise.”

“What happens to Jim now?” – Leonard frowned, speaking quietly – “He ever told you about his childhood?”

“Yes.” – Spock’s eyes were glued to Jim – “He did not go into details, but… I know what happened. I know about his stepfather, and I know about… Tarsus.”

“Yeah.” – Leonard nodded bitterly – “No child deserves it. His childhood, his adolescence… was taken from him. He deserves better than that.”

With that, Leonard stood up.

“I’ve given him a check-up, and everything seems perfectly normal for a 5-year-old kid.” – he laid a hand on Spock’s shoulder and squeezed it – “I’ll just go inside my office to make sure the results are correct, and we can think of something later, ok?”

Spock merely nodded, his eyes never left Jim’s small frame on the biobed.

***

Leonard had just gone inside his office for not long when the small figure on the bio bed began to stir. In a blink of an eye, Spock moved from the chair he was occupying to the side of the bed, sitting close to the little boy who was slowly waking up.

“Hmm…” – the little boy brought his hands up to rub at his eyes before sitting up. His eyes began to open and then, widened as he took in his surroundings. Sitting up, he drew his knees close to his chest hugged them as he stared at Spock.

“Who… Who are you?” – the little boy asked hesitantly – “And where am I?”

“Do you remember who you are?” – Spock asked gently.

“Y…Yeah…” – the little boy nodded – “I’m James Tiberius Kirk. Who are you? Are you an elf?”

“An elf?” – Spock asked, eyebrow raised.

“Well, yeah… Since you have pointed ears… But elves are supposed to be short, aren’t they? And you’re so tall!”

“No, I am not an elf. I am Spock.” – Spock shook his head in amusement.

“Spock.” – Jim repeated – “Hmm, I like it.” – then he glanced around the medical bay again before looking at Spock.

“What time is it?”

“It is currently 17:05.”

Jim’s eyes went wide as he threw away the blanket he had been holding and made to jump off the bed. Quickly, Spock reached out and gathered Jim in his arms. Jim tried to break free but Spock didn’t let him.

“Let me go! Please!” – Jim turned his head to Spock and begged, and Spock’s eyes widened when he saw those blue eyes were filled with tears – “Please, if I don’t go home now Frank’s going to hit me! Please! Let me go home!”

Feeling his heart constrict in his side, Spock hugged Jim tightly to his chest and put his chin on top of Jim’s blonde hair.

“No one is going to harm you ever again. I promise. You are safe here, with me.”

Jim’s squirms stopped as he moved a little bit to look up at Spock.

“You sure?”

“Yes.” – Spock placed a kiss on Jim’s forehead, and relaxed when Jim snuggled into his embrace.

“I don’t know you, but I believe you.” – Jim said, barely above a whisper – “Can I… Can I stay here? I don’t want to go back with Frank.”

A strong emotion washed through Spock as he looked down on Jim’s blonde hair, while feeling his tunic get wet from Jim’s tears. Suddenly Spock felt an urge, to make sure Jim finally get what he wanted. Jim had been given a second chance, and Spock had to be certain that chance was not wasted.

So he made his decision.

Gently, he lowered his head to place another kiss on top of Jim’s head.

“Do you wish to stay here with me?”

Jim nodded silently.

“Then you may stay here with me.”

Jim’s grip on Spock’s tunic grew tighter.

***

Leonard McCoy didn’t know what he expected when he walked out of his office, but he certainly didn’t expect an excited Jim Kirk, very much awake and sitting on Spock’s laps, glancing around his med bay in awe as Spock was talking about something. Probably explaining to Jim where he was.

“Well, that escalated quickly.” – Leonard commented as he approached them, tricorder in hand.

Jim quickly snapped his head towards Leonard before moving deeper into Spock’s embrace, making Leonard roll his eyes.

“Don’t worry kid, I’m not going to harm you. I’m a doctor.”

Jim just glanced up at Spock.

“He is a good doctor, Jim. He can be trusted.” – Spock said gently. Only then did Jim relax and smile at Leonard.

“How the hell did you manage to get him to trust you so easily?” – Leonard mumbled as he ran his tricorder over Jim. He knew Jim was all right, but he just wanted to make sure.

“Leonard.” – Spock said, catching McCoy’s attention as the doctor put his tricorder away.

“Hmm?” – Leonard looked up at Spock.

“I have decided to…” – Spock swallowed before continued – “adopt Jim.”

That earned him 2 pair of wide eyes staring at him.

“You’re serious?” – Leonard asked incredulously.

“I do not trust anyone else to raise Jim properly. Excluding you, of course, but you have your own daughter already.”

Leonard just stared at Spock for a while before running his hands through his hair.

“Well, to be honest, me neither. But… Is it even possible? I mean, Starfleet never let a child live on a starship before. And all the regulations, and papers, and legal matters…” – he trailed off.

“Have you forgotten what kind of family I am from?” – Spock raised an eyebrow – “I can, as humans say, ‘pull a few strings’.”

Leonard stared at his Vulcan friend for a while before broke out laughing. Wow, he didn’t know Spock had it in him.

Kneeling down on the floor so that he was eye level with Jim, Leonard grinned.

“Kid, do you know who Spock is?”

“He is a Vulcan!” – Jim answered happily, having been told by Spock only a few minutes ago.

“Not just any Vulcan.” – Leonard winked – “He's the Vulcan prince!”

“REALLY?” – Jim exclaimed in astonishment.

“Yes.” – Leonard snickered, ignoring the glare Spock was sending him – “and since he’s going to adopt you, you’ll be a Vulcan prince too!”

“REALLY????” – Jim exclaimed even louder before turning to look at Spock – “Spock, am I going to be a prince? For real?”

Spock shot Leonard another glare before glancing down at Jim with warm eyes.

“Technically… Yes, you are.”

“Awesome!” – Jim laughed as he turned in Spock’s embrace and wrapped his tiny arms around the Vulcan’s neck – “I love you! Thank you!”

Startled, Spock went still for a moment before glancing down at Leonard, who was also laughing, and wrapped his own arms around Jim.

“You are welcome.”


	2. Chapter 2

“And here I thought with Jim out of duty, I’ll have much less work to do.” – McCoy grumbled as he prepared a hypo, all the while glaring at Sulu, who was sitting on one of the bio beds, looking sheepish – “Apparently it’s just wishful thinking. Seriously, what the hell happened down there? Can’t you guys be more careful?”

“Well…” – Sulu began, but was once again cut off by the doctor, who began to moved towards him.

“You know what, I don’t wanna know.” – McCoy said grumpily as he shot the hypo into Sulu’s neck with more force than necessary, before glancing at his tricorder in his other hand – “All right. No more work today, and light duty for the next 2 days.”

“But doctor…” – Sulu began to protest, only to receive a menacing glare from McCoy.

“Do you prefer to be confined to your quarters for a week instead?”

“…No, doctor.” – Sulu deflated. He knew without the Captain… Jim on board, nobody can out-stubborn Spock or Dr. McCoy anymore.

“All right.” – McCoy grumbled and turned back to his PADD – “Now get the hell out of my sickbay.”

Sulu sighed and hopped down from the bio bed and made to exit sickbay. However as he reached the door, he turned around.

“Doctor, how about working out?”

McCoy groaned before looking up from his sickbay.

“Can’t you guys stay put for a few hours? Gosh. Working out is fine, but don’t overexert yourself, or I WILL definitely confine you to your quarters.”

“Sweet!” – Sulu grinned. He surely would be bored to death if the doctor didn’t let him work out either. – “Thanks, doctor!”

McCoy gave him a wave and he left.

***

Sulu had gone back to his quarters to change, and now he was walking towards the gym. Talking about the gym, he kinda missed the Captain… Jim. It had been 2 weeks since the incident. At first people were kind of shocked, but they soon got over it, since Jim was only shrunk and didn’t actually die. And Spock made a more than capable captain. Sulu could guess that although the Vulcan wasn’t really interested in all the diplomatic missions and captaincy work, Spock agreed to be the captain to keep the Enterprise in good shape for Jim, so that Jim could claim his ship back when he grew up. Or at least that was what Sulu believed.

Things were starting to go back to normal on the Enterprise. Sulu (and many others) had thought Spock’s captaincy would be entirely different from Jim’s, and they were quite surprised to find out not a lot changed. Sure, the Vulcan was more serious and stoic than the former Captain Kirk, but their strategies and methods resembled each other to a striking level. Could it be that was because they were spending a lot of time together?

But oh well, the whole crew was taking in their newest addition pretty well. Little Jimmy was a little bit smaller than usual kids at his age, but he was much more intelligent. However, he was a little bit shy at first and couldn’t leave Spock’s side, to an extent that the Vulcan had to take him to the bridge and let him sit on his laps while he did his work. Luckily there were nothing serious happening during the first week, and so the crew just acted as if nothing strange was going on. Soon, Jim began to warm up to other people, and pretty much the whole crew volunteered to act as the kid’s sitter while Spock was on duty. Jim quickly stole everyone’s heart, but most of the time the kid preferred to spend time with Spock, or Dr. McCoy, or one of senior crew members.

Sulu grinned as he reached the gym. Since he would be on light duty for the next 2 days, he could ask Spock to let him babysit Jim then. He loved spending time with the kid.

Sulu quickly moved towards the area in the back corner of the gym. The gym was empty (since it was still work hours), but it would be over soon. Normally nobody worked out in the back, and Sulu was feeling like working out in privacy. He just wanted some alone time.

He stopped dead on his track as he reached the area. Apparently the area was occupied. By none other than Captain Spock and his new adoptive son, Jimmy.

They didn’t seem to notice Sulu though, and he quickly stepped into a corner, observing those two out of curiosity. They were standing opposite each other on the sparring mattress, knees bent slightly, feet at shoulder length, as if they were about to spar. Sulu almost snorted. Really?

Suddenly, Jim let out a loud yell and plunged forward at Spock, pushing forcefully at the Vulcan’s leg. Sulu almost let out a chuckle and rolled his eyes. Even a grown up human like Hendorff or Giotto couldn’t even move the Vulcan with all their strength, but Jim’s effort was too adorable.

He didn’t expect, though, and could only watch with wide eyes as Spock actually fell backwards on the mattress with a loud thump, letting out a slight “ooof”. The way he fell could actually fool anyone that it was Jim who actually pushed him down. And then Sulu’s eyes widened even more as he watched Jim laughed gleefully and happily before climbing onto the Vulcan’s chest and just laid there, while Spock’s arms came up and wrapped Jim in a loving embrace, his large hands cradling Jim’s head, which was put under Spock’s chin.

“I won.” – Jim said cheerfully, looking up into the Vulcan’s eyes.

“Indeed, you did.” – Spock looked down into Jim’s eyes as well, his lips quirking up ever slightly – “My strength is no match for yours. You are much stronger than I am.”

Jim laughed before moving up and placed a sweet, long kiss on Spock’s cheeks and climbed down onto the mattress again. He stood at the Vulcan’s side, hands on his hips.

“Come on, Spock! One more round!”

“One more?” – Spock raised an eyebrow from his lying position on the mattress, making no move to stand up – “You have defeated me 5 times already, Jim. Is it not enough for you?”

“Nope. One more.” – Jim said stubbornly, and when Spock made no move to stand up, Jim walked to where his head was lying and with his 5-year-old strength, trying to lift Spock’s head up and pushed him forward.

“Come on, Spock! One more round! Please!”

Spock let out a sigh and made to sit up. He reached around and pulled Jim into his laps.

“One more round, and we go back for a shower, do you agree?”

Jim nodded with a grin still on his face. Spock placed a gentle kiss on the top of Jim’s head and stood up, resuming his previous position. Squealing in delight, Jim went back to his position as well, and regained his serious expression in no time.

Sulu didn’t stay any longer. As silently as he arrived, he left the room with a warm smile on his face.

Working out could wait.


	3. Chapter 3

It was New Year’s Eve.

And Jim really, really wanted to go see the fireworks show he heard the Enterprise crew had been talking about.

But he didn’t dare to ask Spock to take him to see it.

The Enterprise was currently on Earth space dock, going through a refit after the previous fight with the Klingons. And since it happened to coincide with New Year’s Eve, Spock had agreed to let the majority of his crew take shore leave during New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, meaning that the Vulcan himself had more work to do than ever. And Jim knew it. He might only be 6 years old, but he knew everything. He knew Spock was busy, and he knew he couldn’t ask the Vulcan to take him to the fireworks show.

Actually, that was only one reason. Before, when Jim was still staying with Frank, his life was so much more miserable that he didn’t even want to think about it. And ever since Spock adopted him, Jim’s life had been…

Perfect.

Spock took so good care of him, buy him presents and new clothes and stuff. Well, Jim was technically a Prince now. And every night, Spock would let Jim sleep on his chest and hugged Jim tightly, and Jim hadn’t had any nightmare ever since.

And Jim knew: grasp all, lose all.

He was afraid that if he asked too much of Spock, the Vulcan would eventually get tired of him and would send him back to Riverside, to Frank. And Jim didn’t want that. No, he didn’t need to see that fireworks show. He just wanted to stay with Spock.

But he so, so, so badly wanted to go. He had never seen fireworks in real life, and he really wanted to go.

Actually, Uncle Len and Aunt Nyota offered to take him to see it, but he refused. Somehow, it didn’t feel right for him to just leave Spock alone on the Enterprise, working, while Jim was enjoying himself watching fireworks.

So that was why Jim was sitting on the bed in the Captain’s quarters at 10 p.m. on New Year’s Eve. He was waiting for Spock to come back so that he could snuggle into the Vulcan’s warm and strong chest and just fall asleep. He was sleepy already.

Well, he was still just a 6 year old kid.

Spock was late today. Usually Spock would have been back by around 9 or 9.30, and would just sit on the bed with Jim, working on his PADD until Jim grew sleepy and they would go to sleep. But it had been so late already and the computer informed him that Spock was still in the labs. Jim tried his best to stay awake to wait for Spock, he really did, because he didn’t want to sleep alone. But he was still just a kid, and after a few more minutes, Jim couldn’t fight it anymore. He fell asleep.

***

“Jim, wake up. Jim.” – a voice was whispering gently to him, and Jim cracked his eyes opened, blinked a few times, before opening his eyes wide to see Spock was staring down at him, an amused expression on his face. And that was when Jim realized he wasn’t lying on the bed anymore.

He was lying in Spock’s arms. Who was sitting at somewhere very much outside.

Jim immediately sat up on Spock’s laps and glanced around. They were on top of a hill, overlooking a big city.

“Wha… Where are…” – Jim was about to ask a thousand questions but words died on his mouth as a red ray was shot upwards from the tallest building in the city.

Only to explode into the most beautiful big red flower Jim had ever seen.

His mouth fell open as after that, rays after rays of all colors continued to be shot into the sky and exploded into all kinds of images and shapes, creating the most beautiful light show ever.

Jim was so stunned that he was still staring up in the sky even after the show had ended.

“Did you enjoy it?” – Spock asked gently into his ears, his arms wrapped around Jim’s tiny waist.

Jim was about to turn around to face Spock when he realized he wasn’t as cold as he was supposed to be. It was supposed to be winter, so why… He looked down on his tiny body and stared wide eyed at the red and white sweater he was wearing.

Jim didn’t remember owning any sweater like that.

He turned around to look at Spock, only to see the Vulcan’s ears were a little green.

“I…” – Spock cleared his throat before continuing – “It is my first time knitting, so it took me longer than I had expected. And it did not turn out to be as good as I imagined, so I apologize in advance.”

Spock stopped and bent down a little to place a kiss on Jim’s blonde hair.

“Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year, Jim.”

And Jim couldn’t hold it in any longer.

He immediately wrapped his tiny arms around Spock’s neck and buried his face there, to hide the tears that were falling freely from his eyes. Which startled Spock a little bit, and the Vulcan tried to gently pry Jim away, but Jim was clinging to him so tightly and just shook his head vigorously that the Vulcan was completely helpless.

“Why are you crying?” – Spock’s voice sounded calm, but Jim could hear a little bit of panic in there – “Do you not like it? I apologize if it is not to your liking, I will give you something else next year. Jim…”

“Nobody… ever… gave me” – Jim tried to say between his crying, his voice muffled – “Christmas presents… before. Nobody ever… took me to… see a fireworks show before. Thank… you. Thank you… so much… Thank…” – and Jim’s voice was completely lost as hiccups and tears took over his words. But he could feel Spock’s hands had stopped trying to pry him away, but had landed on his back and the back of his neck instead, holding him even tighter.

“I will give you as many presents and will take you to see as many fireworks shows as you like.” – Spock said, gently – “There is nothing I am capable of that I would not do for you, Jim. Remember that.”

Jim’s only reply was to bury his face into the crook of Spock’s neck further and hugged him tighter. He wanted to tell Spock he loved him so much, but his voice was failing him now, and his eyes were feeling heavy. And so, he fell asleep in Spock’s embrace.

That was alright. He would tell Spock tomorrow.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In memories of the legendary Mr. Leonard Nimoy.  
> You lived long and prospered, sir.

“Spock?” – Jim asked tentatively as he stepped into the Observation Deck. They – the Enterprise – were on their way to the newest mission, and Jim was hanging out on the bridge, studying Vulcan with Nyota (Spock would allow Jim on the bridge every once in a while during uneventful days, provided that Jim finished his homework quickly and correctly) when Nyota informed Spock that he had a transmission from New Vulcan. Spock only nodded and went into his ready room to take it, only to come back shortly after and gave the order to change the course for New Vulcan, and after that he also let Sulu take over the bridge before approaching Jim and Nyota, and with a quiet “Excuse me” to Nyota, he picked Jim up and retreated to his own quarters.

That night, when Spock hugged Jim a little tighter to his chest as they drifted off to sleep, Jim didn’t say anything. The little blond human boy only snuggled closer into his Vulcan’s embrace.

Jim also didn’t make any comment when Spock never let Jim out of his sight even once during their trip to New Vulcan.

But when Spock was preparing himself to be beamed down to New Vulcan, Jim finally approached him. And after a while of hesitation, Jim finally gathered all his courage to ask if Spock could let him tag along, and quickly promised that he would be good and not run around. Usually Jim was a curious boy, and he liked to run around, discovering everything he could whenever he was allowed to leave the ship, during shore leave for example, and basically every shore leave for Spock could be described as “running after Jim”. However, Jim could sense that it wasn’t the case this time, that Spock had to be on New Vulcan because of something important, which had been troubling the Vulcan ever since he received the transmission. And even though this was the first time Jim was on New Vulcan, he didn’t want to discover anything this time. He just wanted… He just wanted to be there to comfort Spock. Spock never said anything, but Jim knew he had been having difficulties meditating these days, and Jim just wanted to be there should Spock need him for comfort.

He bit his lips when he felt that Spock was about to say no, however, the Vulcan only looked at him for a while before he called for Dr. McCoy and asked him to give Jim some tri-ox supplies, as well as give Spock some extra to carry with him should Jim need it. Jim had smiled so brightly at that, and for once he didn’t complain when Dr. McCoy just mumbled something grumpily as he hypoed Jim.

They beamed down near a nice looking house near a mountain. Jim had studied enough about New Vulcan to know that the temperature here might be too high for him, however the area they beamed down seemed to be one of the cooler area on New Vulcan, and the temperature wasn’t too high for Jim to cause great discomfort. And even though the door automatically opened on Spock’s command, Jim knew it wasn’t Spock’s house (since Spock already showed Jim pictures of his house), so Jim could only guess that it was someone close to him. They entered the house, and Jim could only catch a glimpse of the inside (the house was pretty simply decorated) before Spock was taking him further inside, to the bedroom, where an old Vulcan was laying on his bed, seemingly unmoving. However, as they got closer, the old Vulcan opened his eyes, and the corner of his mouth twitched upwards a little bit as he took in Spock’s stoic-as-ever face, before his eyes landed on Jim. Jim still didn’t know what to do when Spock gave him a slight push and he moved forward, as the elder Vulcan’s hand moved and landed on Jim’s arms. The elder Vulcan gripped Jim’s tiny arms for a little while before he retreated his hand, and nodded. Spock nodded back before taking Jim back outside, where he ordered for the Enterprise to beam Jim up with a promise to be back soon.

Spock’s definition of “soon” turned out to be 2 days.

And he retreated back into his quarters for one more day, refusing contact with anyone else (including Jim), saying that he needed to meditate. And when he finally emerged, he became even more quiet and reserved than he already was.

When Spock didn’t return to his quarters by 9 p.m., as he usually did, Jim asked the computer for his location. That was why Jim was entering the Observation Deck way past his bedtime, in only his golden pajamas. 

“Spock?” – Jim called out again, and yelped in surprise when strong arms out of nowhere picked him up from the ground.

“What are you doing here, Jim? It is past your bedtime, you should be in bed.” – Spock said softly as he held Jim up, looking directly into the little human’s eyes.

“But you didn’t return!” – Jim said, biting his lips – “You’ve been distant lately. I… I miss you.”

“I… apologize.” – Spock said as he brought Jim closer to his chest and began to walk back to their quarters – “My… control have not been adequate lately.”

“Did the elder Vulcan…?” – Jim asked, his voice barely above a whisper as he looked up at Spock. Spock only nodded slightly, his eyes still looking forward.

“He… was someone close to me.” – Spock said softly – “He had always seemed healthy that I… I never considered the possibility that this day would come.”

Jim didn’t say anything, until they reached their quarters. He silently waited on the bed for Spock to finish his nightly routine. As soon as Spock lied down, Jim immediately climbed onto the Vulcan’s chest and snuggled into him. And using his knowledge of Vulcan that Spock and Nyota had been teaching him, Jim whispered softly.

“Tushah nash-veh k’odu.”

He felt Spock’s hands on his back still for just a second before the Vulcan hugged him closer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Zachary Quinto basically lost his father a second time :(


	5. Chapter 5

“Captain, we are currently orbiting Regi IV. Awaiting orders.” – Sulu said from where he was sitting at the helm, his fingers tapping away on the control board. His words caught Spock’s attention as he looked up from his PADD. He frowned as the planet appeared on the view screen, before turning towards the Science station, where Carol was sitting. When Spock was promoted to Captain of the Enterprise, he had appointed Carol as the new Chief of the Science Department, and she seemed to have been doing an admirable job so far.

“Lieutenant Marcus” – Spock said – “Give me the preliminary scanning results of the planet.”

“No sentient life sign detected, Captain.” – Carol replied – “The planet possesses a habitable atmosphere, however the only life signs detected are plants.”

“Very well.” – Spock, nodded – “Lieutenant Marcus, gather a team from the Science Department and rendezvous in the transporter room. Lieutenant Uhura, contact Dr. McCoy and tell him to be ready to meet in the transporter room as well. Also, contact Mr. Scott and tell him that his presence is required on the bridge as Acting Captain. Lieutenant Sulu, you may head to the transporter room. Inform everyone there that I shall be present shortly.”

Everyone immediately set to work after receiving their orders. As for Spock, after he had made sure that everyone was doing their job, he entered the lift and went to the Officers’ Deck. He entered his quarters and saw Jim, who was sprawling on the bed reading Sherlock Holmes. Jim looked up as soon as Spock entered and his face immediately lit up like a Christmas tree.

“Spock!” – Jim exclaimed happily, before frowning in confusion – “I thought you were still working?”

“Technically, I am still on duty.” – Spock replied as he approached the bed and sat down next to Jim. One glance at the still-opened book told him that Jim just finished ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’. Had it been any other ordinary kid, Spock would have doubted that they could have fully comprehended what they have just read, but then Jim was no ordinary kid.

“I wanted to check on your well-being before I have to beam down to do survey on the planet we are currently orbiting, Regi IV.” – Spock said, running his fingers through Jim’s hair.

“I’m fine, don’t worry!” – Jim replied cheerfully – “Tell me about this planet! What is it like?”

“It is a habitable planet, although we have detected no sentient life signs.” – Spock replied calmly – “All life signs detected are plants.”

“So… It’s not dangerous?” – Jim asked, a hint of curiosity in his voice.

“I cannot say for certain.” – Spock replied, raising an eyebrow – “Of all the planets we have visited, 98.24% of the discovered plants do not pose any direct threats to the crew. However, that does not mean there is no plant on this planet that falls into the remaining 1.76%”

“…Oh.” – Jim said, his shoulders sagged visibly as he turned his gaze towards the book.

“Jim?” – Spock frowned, confused – “Why do you seem bothered by this information?”

“It’s… It’s nothing, really.” – Jim said, his voice small – “It’s just… When I grow up, I want to be a Starfleet Officer, just like you, Spock. And… I was hoping that one day, during a mission, you would come across a planet that is safe, and maybe, just maybe, you would allow me to join you down on this planet, so I can observe how you guys work, what job you guys do down there… But you just said you weren’t certain if the planet was safe or not, so I guess I’ll stay here and wait for you to return then. As usual.”

Spock looked at Jim, noticing the way the 8-year-old kid was looking at the book without any intention to continue reading, the way his shoulders were lower than when he was his cheerful self. Spock turned his head towards the door, and closed his eyes. He knew, that moment, that he was about to do something completely illogical.

Why was it that Spock’s logic always seemed to fly out the window whenever Jim Kirk was involved?

“If you promise to always, and I mean always, stay close to either me or Dr. McCoy…” – Spock said, taking a deep breath – “Then I will let you go on this mission, Jim.”

Jim snapped his head towards Spock fast, his eyes went completely wide. Shortly after that, however, he gave Spock probably the brightest smile of his life before throwing himself in Spock’s laps, wrapping his arms around Spock’s neck and buried his face there.

As Spock brought his arms up to wrap around Jim and stood up to bring him to the transporter room, he had already regretted his decision.

***

“What the hell is that hobgoblin doing?” – Leonard grumbled. All of the away team had gathered in the transporter room, except for their leader – the Captain.

"I am here, Doctor.” – Spock said as he stepped inside the transporter room. The team turned towards the door, about to salute their captain, but what they saw rendered them completely speechless.

Jim was standing next to Spock, grinning widely at everyone.

Almost immediately, Leonard stepped forward. Grabbing onto Spock’s arm, he pulled the Vulcan towards one of the corners in the room.

“Are you out of your goddamn Vulcan mind?” – Leonard hissed – “What the flying fuck are you thinking? You can’t bring the kid on the mission! Not to mention you’re probably breaking every single regulation there is, but it could be dangerous down there!”

“Preliminary scan results show only plants inhabit the planet, therefore I have concluded that the planet is safe enough for Jim.” – Spock said, clasping his hands behind his back – “Moreover, Jim has expressed his intention to become a Starfleet Officer when he grows up in multiple occasion, therefore it is only logical that I let him participate in a mission so that he can observe how Starfleet officers work.”

“Logical my ass.” – Leonard snorted – “You couldn’t resist the kid’s kicked-puppy expression.”

“…That, too.” – Spock admitted, his cheeks a little green – “But I have made him promise to stay close to us at all times, so I do not think there will be any trouble.”

“What now?” – Leonard’s crossed his arms in front of his chest – “The only reason you’re bringing me down there is to be Jim’s babysitter?”

“I can assure you, Doctor, that it is definitely not my intention. I have just made the decision to let Jim join us shortly before I arrived here.” – with that, Spock ended the conversation by walking towards where Jim was standing, laughing with the away team. A few seconds later, Leonard also shook his head before walking towards the team as well.

***  
“Wow! This is so amazing!” – Jim looked around with his wide eyes. The planet was really beautiful with colorful trees and flowers everywhere. The air also seemed really fresh.

“Jim, do not wander away.” – Spock said from where he was standing next to Jim, scanning a fascinating flower when Ensign Roberts called out to him.

“Captain! You might want to check this out!”

Spock put his tricorder in his pocket and stood up.

“Jim, come with me.” – the Vulcan said to Jim, and Jim smiled back and nodded. Spock went on ahead and Jim was about to follow him when the flower Spock had been studying began to move a little bit. Curious, Jim turned his head towards the flower and his eyes widened in awe as the petals began to change color randomly. It was like a colorful light show, and Jim was completely captivated.

Unknown to him, a branch (probably from the same tree) began to rise from the ground behind Jim. When the branch reached a height around the middle of Jim’s back, the tip of the branch sharpened into the shape of a needle and it plunged itself at the little boy.

***  
Spock was talking to Ensign Roberts and Lieutenant Marcus about the specimen Ensign Roberts managed to find. It seemed that, according to the ensign’s report, of the 8 species he managed to scan on the planet, 5 of them were predatory plants.

That was a very high ratio. Which might explain a lack of sentient life signs in the preliminary scans. Which meant that this planet was not safe for an 8-year-old kid.

Spock was about to pull out his communicator and order for Mr. Scott to beam Jim up when a movement in the corner of his eyes caught his attention. He immediately turned around to see Jim standing in front of the flower he had been scanning, with a tree branch as sharp as a needle pointing at his back.

Which, Spock was 100% certain, was not there before.

Spock was about to call out to Jim to alert him when he noticed movement at the base of the branch.

It was about to stab Jim. And Spock didn’t have time to alert the boy.

Without further thinking, the Vulcan threw himself forward.

***  
Jim was still watching the flower’s light show when he suddenly felt himself being engulfed in a hug from behind. A very tight hug. His first instinct was to scream, but he could recognize those strong arms and firm chest anytime. He turned around and smiled at Spock, but his smile faded when he noticed Spock’s eyes were closed, and his eyebrows were furrowed together, like he was…

In pain.

To Jim’s panic, Spock’s embrace began to loosen and the Vulcan swayed a little bit before he collapsed to the ground. In a blink of an eye, Dr. McCoy was by his side, calling for beam up. Moments later, Jim found himself already on the transporter pad, and he couldn’t do anything but watched helplessly as Spock was immediately put on a stretcher, green blood soaking the back of his uniform shirt.

“Spock…?”

***  
Nyota knocked on the door to the captain’s quarters.

“Who’s there?” – Jim’s voice came from the inside. Communication specialist or not, it wasn’t difficult to realize the sniffle in the boy’s voice. Jim had been crying.

“It’s me, Nyota here.” – she replied gently. Moments later, the door opened, revealing Jim standing right in front of her. The boy had made sure to clean the tears from his face, but Nyota didn’t fail to notice the wet spots on Jim’s shirt sleeves, or the red eyes. She gently took his hand and pulled him inside. After they both had settled on the bed, she put an arm around his shoulder and he immediately snuggled close to her, burying his face to her side. The sight made her heart clench.

“Spock’s gonna be okay, kiddo.” – Nyota said, almost like a whisper in the silent room – “He’s a stubborn Vulcan, and Dr. McCoy is the best doctor I’ve ever known, and I’ve met a lot of species.”

“It was still my fault.” – Jim mumbled brokenly, sniffling – “Had I listened to Spock, had I followed him like he said…” – Jim’s crying was getting harder – “Had I gone back to Frank…”

“Hey hey hey!” – Nyota said sternly as she hugged him closer – “You’re NOT going back to Frank, okay? I read the report, and for all we know, it still could have happened even if you had followed Spock. He won’t love you any less because of this, trust me.”

“But…”

“No buts. You belong here, with us, on the Enterprise.”

“Spock won’t hate me because I disobeyed him?” – Jim had stopped crying, but his voice still held a hint of uncertainty, and Nyota couldn’t help it but put a kiss on top of his head.

“Spock would never hate you, Jim.” – She said, and if she was honest with herself, she had never felt so certain.

They sat in silence for a while before the comm in the room start beeping. Nyota stood up and approached the comm.

“Yes Doctor?”

“Nyota? You’re in there with Jim?” – Dr. McCoy’s voice sounded relieved – “Spock’s up. Know what the first thing to leave his mouth was?”

“Let me guess.” – Nyota smiled – “Is Jim okay?”

“Damn right.” – McCoy laughed – “If you don’t mind, can you take Jim down here? I bet he can’t wait to see Spock.”

“Sure doctor.” – Nyota smiled at she cut the transmission. Turning to Jim, her smile didn’t falter a bit as she took in the hopeful look on his face.

“Come on, let’s go to medbay. Spock wants to see you.” – And Jim immediately jumped off the bed.

***  
“How’s Spock, Doctor?” – Nyota asked as she and Jim entered McCoy’s office.

“He’s damn lucky he’s half Vulcan.” – McCoy frowned – “The stab wasn’t fatal, but the toxin injected into his body… Let’s just say if he were fully human, he wouldn’t have made it. His half-Vulcan physiology made his resistance to the toxin much higher, and he will be making a full recovery. Damn, do Vulcans have to be superior in everything?”

“Well, it’s still good news.” – Nyota smiled – “Hey Jim, Spock will be fully recov…” – She turned towards where Jim was supposed to be, but she couldn’t find him anywhere – “Hey, where did he go?”

“Where do you think?” – McCoy snorted as he opened the door to the Captain’s private medical ward, and there Jim was, all cozy snuggling next to Spock, and the Vulcan had an arm around him, gently stroking his hair.

Nyota smiled.


End file.
